• COVID-19: 9 new cases, one death (media)
• Palmer: Kosovo needs to deliver on obligation for Association (RTV21)
• EU expects Kosovo to make proposals on Association (Koha)
• Kurti will insist on his four points in second meeting with Vucic (Kosovapress)
• EU wants discussions on all ideas for joint regional market (Koha)
• Memli Krasniqi elected leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK (media)
• Kosovo forgets border demarcation with Montenegro (RFE)
• Wesley Clark to visit Kosovo on Wednesday (media)
• The Party’s Back: Balkan Summer Festivals Return (BIRN)

COVID-19: 9 new cases, one death (media)

Nine new cases with COVID-19 and one death from the virus were recorded in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. 14 persons have recovered from the virus during this time. 1,110 doses were administered in the last 24 hours. 49, 207 persons in Kosovo have received the second dose of the vaccine to date. There are 160 active cases of COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Palmer: Kosovo needs to deliver on obligation for Association (RTV21)

US Special Representative for the Western Balkans and Deputy Assistant Secretary Matthew Palmer said in an interview with the TV station on Sunday that Kosovo has undertaken the obligation for the Association/Community of Serb-majority municipalities and that it needs to deliver.

RTV21: In Kosovo and Serbia’s case, is it the Association of Serb municipalities that can be seen as the compromise?

Palmer: Well, I think the way that Miroslav Lajcak and the EU team would put it as pacta sunt servanda, which is what is agreed should be implemented. There are existing agreements reached through the Brussels dialogue, through the EU-facilitated process, those agreements should be implemented, even as they work toward additional agreements that point to the path forward. And as long as everyone understands that what they are working towards is a normal relationship that unblocks the European path for both Serbia and Kosovo, I think there is room for compromise and progress.

Is that a yes for the Association of Serb-majority municipalities? I don’t want anyone else to interpret it that’s why I’m insisting. Is that a yes?

The Association of Serb municipalities is an obligation that Kosovo has undertaken and it is one that it needs to deliver.

Even though the Constitutional Court found that it is unconstitutional?

There are certainly mechanisms by which Kosovo can move forward on the Association consistent with its constitutional obligations.

Is there anything else as for the compromises that need to be delivered from both sides. 35 agreements between the two parties.

There is certainly room to improve the quality of implementation on freedom of movement for example. There are ongoing conversations about the ID only travel that are broader than the dialogue, that are part of the regional common market initiative and that is something that will contribute to economic interchange and trade amongst the countries of the Western Balkans. That is a positive thing. It will be good for countries in the region to develop closer economic ties to really be able to build a common market of 80 million people that will be attractive to outside investors and that will create opportunities for growth that will encourage folks from the Balkans to stay in the Balkans and raise their families here and make their lives here.

As for the lawsuit for the genocide that Kosovo talks about so much and it was an electoral promise by the Prime Minister, Kurti. What about it?

Well I don’t think that that approach is going to contribute to resolution of the disputes of the friction points, between Serbia and Kosovo. So, what we would like to see, the parties not just in the Serbia-Kosovo dispute, but really across the region is to focus less on the past and more on the future. It is important for Kosovo’s future that they identify points of commonality with Serbia, that they reach an agreement on normal relationship and find a way to move this process forward. If Kosovo wants to pursue court cases that is Kosovo’s sovereign decision. What we would like to see them do is commit to the dialogue process and to a normal relationship with Serbia.

So, you would definitely not advise them to pursue a lawsuit?

First thing is they need to have standing. So that is an issue that would need to be addressed before a lawsuit can be filed. This stuff is complicated and what we would like to see is Kosovo and Serbia engage, through the EU-facilitated dialogue, in a process that is forward looking and creates opportunities for more normal relationship.

EU expects Kosovo to make proposals on Association (Koha)

The daily reports on its front page prior to the next meeting between Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic in late July, there will be talks about the agreements reached in the dialogue so far and the level of their implementation. The meeting between Kosovo Deputy Prime Minister for Dialogue, Besnik Bislimi, and the Serbian delegation, which will be held on Tuesday or Wednesday, will focus on the agreements reached so far. Representatives from Bislimi’s office however could not say which agreements will be discussed in Brussels.

The European Union meanwhile has recalled that Kosovo has undertaken obligations. “The position of the EU on the Association/Community of Serb municipalities is very unclear and remains unchanged. In 2013, Kosovo entered an agreement to form the Association/Community of Serb municipalities. This agreement was concluded in good faith between all parties involved. In fact, the 2013 agreement was ratified by 2/3 of votes in the Assembly. In doing so, Kosovo undertook an international obligation to implement this agreement. It is up to Kosovo to propose the way forward to implement the agreement,” the European External Action Service told the paper.

Kurti will insist on his four points in second meeting with Vucic (Kosovapress)

Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, in his second meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, will insist on the four proposals he presented in his first meeting in Brussels. However, the proposals are seen as unrealistic by civil society representatives in Prishtina. Meanwhile, while there is no agreement yet about the agenda of talks on July 25, there have been reports about another meeting at a lower level in the next couple of days. The meeting however has yet to be confirmed by the Kosovo government or the European Union.

Fitore Pacolli, an MP from the Kurti-led Vetevendosje Movement, told Kosovapress that they expect Serbia to seriously consider the four proposals before moving forward. “We will insist on these proposals and for Serbia to accept them,” she said.

EU wants discussions on all ideas for joint regional market (Koha)

The daily reports on page two that while Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti is promoting the idea for a joint market with SEFTA, where Kosovo would be represented without the footnote and without UNMIK and be an equal entity with other countries of the region, the EU says that all ideas for a joint regional market must be discussed. The EU Office in Kosovo said in a response to the paper that concrete results on this issue are expected in the Berlin Summit on July 5.

Memli Krasniqi elected leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo, PDK (media)

One of the main news over the weekend was the election of Memli Krasniqi as leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK), the biggest opposition party in Kosovo. Krasniqi said after the election that he will continue on the path set by former party leaders, Hashim Thaci and Kadri Veseli, and that he will cooperate with everyone that wants to join this party.

“On the path of bringing back PDK to where it belongs, at the helm of the state, we will without a doubt have many challenges. We will have many obstacles and I am certain that it is not going to be easy, but I know the spirit of our party. I know the readiness of all members. Based on this never-ending energy, I am confident that we are going to make it,” he said.

Krasniqi said the main battle of his party will be in the Kosovo Assembly and he called on all PDK MPs to engage in the Assembly as much as possible. He also said he will form a new chairmanship with young men and women and also people that grew in the PDK. Krasniqi said the PDK will also form a Good Governance cabinet with the aim of shaping their vision for a future government.

Kosovo forgets border demarcation with Montenegro (RFE)

Three years after the Kosovo Assembly ratified the border demarcation agreement with Montenegro, the process cannot be considered finalised yet. The agreement, which was signed in 2015 in Vienna and later ratified, notes that both countries will review the borderline. Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti, who was against the agreement, has yet to form the state border delineation committee.

The Kosovo government did not reply to questions from the news website and has yet to say when the new committee will be formed. Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) leader and former Prime Minister, Ramush Haradinaj, has called on Kurti to form the committee as soon as possible. “It is the first action you must undertake in order to avoid a vacuum, and for the government not to be caught by any surprises. The committee must be operational,” he said. Haradinaj also said that if Montenegro is not ready to review the borderline, the issue must go to arbitration.

Florim Isufi, a university professor who also part of the state committee appointed by Haradinaj when he was Prime Minister, said that the demarcation line can be reviewed only if Montenegro is willing to do so. “The borderline cannot be defined if the two parties are not in agreement,” he added.

Wesley Clark to visit Kosovo on Wednesday (media)

Wesley Clark, a retired general of the US Army who was also Supreme Allied Commander Europe during the NATO air campaign in the Kosovo war, will visit Kosovo on Wednesday. His visit was announced by Kosovo’s Minister of Defense, Armend Mehaj.

“On this special day, as we celebrate July 4 – the Independence Day of the United States of America, I have the pleasure of informing you that following my official invitation, on July 7, the Ministry of Defense will host a visit by the historic US General, our Hero, Wesley Clark,” Mehaj wrote in a Facebook post.

The Party’s Back: Balkan Summer Festivals Return (BIRN)

Countries in the region are bringing back the majority of their international summer festivals, after most were canceled or moved online in 2020 due to the pandemic.

In a mood of eager anticipation, in early June 2021 the Albanian seaside town of Shengjin opened its doors to locals and international visitors alike for the Unum Festival, the first big-scale event held in the region since March 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown started. The festival hosted 50 international and local music acts over five days.

Visitors had waited for a whole year, scarred by the coronavirus, to be “one with the four elements of nature that characterize the concept of the festival – the sand, the pines, the sea and the mountains”, organisers said, meaning without COVID-19-related restrictions.

This summer will be long remembered in the region as a restart for normal life, including most of its international summer festivals.

However, depending on each country’s measures, attending some festivals in the region will still require a negative COVID-19 test or proof of vaccination. For example, Montenegro will only host the Sea Dance Festival under strict measures, which means proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test.

Other festivals, such as the Sunland Festival in Bulgaria, Defected Croatia and the Ohrid Summer Fest in North Macedonia, have not restricted safety requirements to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Meanwhile, some film festivals, such as Anibar and Dokufest in Kosovo, and the Istanbul Film Festival in Turkey, have returned but have moved partially online.

The same goes for Serbia’s summer festivals, including one of the biggest in the region, EXIT, whose organisers published guidelines saying that people will be required to confirm that they have been vaccinated to enter festival, or are willing to receive free of charge antigen tests at the entrance.